There is no Death, there is the Force
by Inferno56678
Summary: "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." At that time, Obi-Wan could not imagine just how right he would come to be. The past can't be changed, but maybe, just maybe, the future can be diverted down a different path. The universe isn't quite done with Obi-Wan yet, he's once again nearing 20 and destiny is fast approaching. TFA
1. Prologue

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

 _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

 _There is no passion, there is serenity._

 _There is no chaos, there is harmony._

 _There is no death, there is the Force._

The sound of water filled his ears as he sat cross legged upon a large boulder worn smooth. Harmony. If there was a single word that could describe the where he was that would be it. He could feel the life of a thousand things surrounding him interweaving with his very essence.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace._

 _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

 _There is no passion, there is serenity._

 _There is no chaos, there is harmony._

 _There is no death, there is the Force._

Those words. They meant something. A foundation on which to build himself. Everything he had worked towards. Something to bring comfort for when times were dark. Something…

Blue-grey eyes opened warily shifting around the room examining every detail. Synstone made up the walls of the abode that was his home. Various parts lay scattered across a table on the far side of the room along with a smattering of personal effects. In another corner lay another bed already emptied of its occupant. Judging the situation safe the man swung his legs over his bed to the sandy floor and rose to his feet gracefully. With calm diligence, he moved about the room seeing to his morning rituals. Finishing he walked out of his abode through the curtain of beads.

The sun harshly beat down upon his brow as he pulled the hood of his plain tunic up over his head. The village of Tuanul was in a word unassuming. A spiritual colony that kept to itself, huts lay scattered about roughly centered around the pitch-black obelisk in the center of the village which served as an object of meditation for the spiritual village. On the outskirts of the village moisture vaporators quietly hummed as they ionized the air to provide water for the village inhabitants, animals, and hydroponic gardens.

' _Something about today...'_

"Ben!" a gruff voice caught his attention. He turned his head and raised his hand in greeting a small smile spreading across his face. An older man with a heavily lined face and thinning white hair garbed in a dark tunic was smiling softly at him.

"Morning Tekka!"

"We got a moisture vaporator out, can you go take a look at it?"

"Let me grab my tools."

Stepping back into his shelter, Ben efficiently assembled his tools attaching them to his utility belt. Walking back out of the hut he followed Tekka through the village until they arrived at the broken vaporator. Sharing a nod with Tekka. He took out an old worn diagnostic device and plugged it into the vaporator and hit the diagnostic switch. Looking at the readout he sighed. Taking out his hydrospanner Ben took off the panel of the vaporator searching through the insides of the machine until he found the refrigerated condenser. Pulling out the device he examined it noting the blinking red light he groaned.

Leaning back on his heels Ben ran his hand through his light brown hair contemplating the problem. It would be a two-day's trip to Niima Outpost to get the replacement part they needed, two days back and it would be another days' worth of work to install the new part and run diagnostics. That would be five days without one of their moisture vaporator's. Taking another look at the condenser he sighed, he would have to try to wrangle another month out of it.

"Do or do not, there is no try," he muttered wryly to himself then paused. Where had he heard that? He rubbed his forehead to erase the small familiar headache that had appeared.

"Food's ready."

The sound of Tekka's voice knocked Ben out of his examination of the newly refurbished condenser in his hand.

"Got it, I'll be there in a second."

Sighing with no small amount of satisfaction Ben leaned back from his workbench stretching his back out. Looking behind him he saw Tekka looking contemplatively at him as though he was searching for something.

"Something wrong?"

After a moment Tekka responded, "Nothing to concern yourself with, come, you've been working on that thing all day."

Standing up Ben joined Tekka around the stove where the older man proceeded to ladle soup into two bowls before passing him a loaf of bread and a bowl. They ate quietly as was their custom but it was comfortable silence as between a father and son. As they finished Tekka looked at him expectantly. This was how it always began. Straightening his posture, he crossed his legs mirroring Tekka and reaching into a pouch on his utility belt Ben retrieving an ice blue crystal. He paused taking a moment to enjoy the gentle warmth of the crystal in his palm before concentrating and with a mental nudge the crystal lifted into the air to hover before him.

Tekka after seeing that Ben had readied himself said, "Close your eyes. Breathe."

Letting his eyes fall shut he steadied his breathing taking long deep breaths.

"Reach out, what do you feel?"

It was as if he was standing in the center of the galaxy. In front of him where the crystal was, was an oasis of warm light that penetrated to his very center. The light itself had an indescribable melody to it that was not so much heard as felt. Letting the feeling strengthen him he, reached out bringing the village entirety of the village into his perception. Motes of light were scattered about the village projecting various feelings but predominantly _joy_ , _exasperation_ , _peace_.

"Anna nearly spilled the soup but her mother grabbed the pot before she could. The rest of her family is laughing at her. She loves the attention."

"Just the villagers?"

Focusing harder Ben drew in another deep breath. The lights of the animals slept silently in their pens. A faint glow surrounded the hydroponic gardens shifting slightly as the energies of the plants intermingled a feeling of community.

"The animals are resting. The gardens are growing well, they'll need a bit more water tomorrow."

"Reach farther."

Letting a breath out Ben reached his consciousness out. Past the village, past the dunes, until he could reach no further.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"It's too much, I'm not strong enough."

"Breathe Ben, you're stronger than you know. Reach."

Focusing Ben took a deep breath and unbidden a voice he had only heard in his dreams echoed in his mind.

" _Peace, my young padawan, you must clear your mind."_

He **reached**. He could feel it all. Where before it seemed like he was standing in the center of a galaxy now he could feel an entire universe and that was when he felt it. _Determination_ , _focus_. Opening his eyes, he looked directly at Tekka whose own eyes were staring at him in shock.

"Someone's coming."

The older man nodded, "I expected this, come with me."

Ben nodded and followed Tekka as he exited the hut the letting the bead curtain sway shut behind him.

"What direction?"

Reaching out, Ben felt for the presence again, they were much closer now. He pointed up to the right of his body.

"They're maybe a couple klicks out but they're moving quickly."

It was maybe a minute later that the low hum of a starship entered their hearing. Difficult to pick out at first, the sound grew louder and louder causing other occupants to exit their huts clutching a various assortment of weaponry. From over the sand dunes emerged a black Starfighter, the ship had a long barrel nose with a set of wings at the very base of the fighter. The fighter circled the village once and came to rest behind a low sandbank.

The silence was deafening. Some of the villagers shifted behind their cover. The cockpit opened and a man jumped out. Cautiously he moved towards the village.

Tekka stepped forward, "Who are you?"

The man halted eyes, flicking around observing the array of weapons against him. The man was rather handsome with thick brown hair and brown eyes a tan leather jacket with red leather shoulders covering his torso.

"I'm Poe Dameron, I'm a pilot for the Resistance, I was told you had a map," he replied in a light voice.

Solemnly Tekka nodded, "Follow me."

Turning around Tekka began to walk towards the hut followed by Poe. The rest of the villagers realizing there was no danger made their way back to their huts leaving the area deserted except for Ben. As he turned to head back to the hut Ben paused.

 **Darkness**

He had never felt something like this before. A presence of pain, anger, and pure unadulterated hatred. Something dark had arrived. The presence was far off but it was strong. Stronger than any presence he had ever felt.

That wasn't right though. He remembered someone else, far stronger, a pitch-black mask and a shadowy cloak hiding the burned wreckage of what had once been a man.

Ben clutched at his head massaging his brow to try and soothe the sudden but familiar headache. A beep and whistle distracted him causing Ben to look down to see an orange white astromech droid, a newer model judging by its ball shape. The droid's receptor was pointed in his direction a low whistle of concern emerging from the droid.

"I'm fine."

A beep.

"Well maybe not fine, but it's mostly gone now. Are you that pilot's droid?"

A whistle, this time affirmative.

Looking back out Ben tried to sense for the presence again only to be met with a return probe. Instantly he withdrew. Whatever that presence was it knew he was here. A faint tingle went up his spine and almost without his will he turned and started running followed closely by the droid who had let off a series of whistles and beeps in apparent alarm. Brushing past the curtain of beads he looked directly at Tekka,

"Something's coming."

The droid let off an affirmative whistle to his right.

Tekka and Poe looked up in shock, Poe rose to his feet followed swiftly by Tekka as they rushed outside to look up at the sky. Poe grabbed a pair of quadnoculars from his belt and lifted them to his eyes. Ben didn't need to see his face as his fear and shock rippled from him. Turning around the man looked directly at Tekka,

"You have to hide."

"You have to leave. Go!" Tekka responded. Poe paused for a moment of indecision and then nodded running off followed by the droid. Tekka turned to Ben and caught him by the shoulder pulling him into the hut. Quickly going over to a corner of the hut he grabbed a heavy leather pack. A pack that had been filled for the past couple of days. A feeling of dread started to creep into Ben as Tekka looked him dead in the eye.

"Ben, since I met you on Dantooine twelve years ago, I've done my best to teach you as I could. It is time our paths split, take this pack, follow them make sure that they escape. Head to the nearest settlement and leave this planet. It is too dangerous for you here. Remember the Force is with you."

He wanted to argue. He wanted to fight. They could push back these people. Something in him though urged him to go, to run. Whatever was coming, if it found that map… His stomach tightened in knots. This had been his home for three years. Living here had been so peaceful but some part of him had always known he would have to leave. Tekka rarely stayed in one place for too long. He had made friends with the people here though, worked with them, laughed with them and he knew that they were all going to die. The least he could do was die with them. Die with Tekka. As he looked at Tekka he reached out and was overwhelmed, _love_ , _despair, hope_ feelings swirled through Tekka and what words could not convey emotion did.

Ben **moved**. Sand flew as he sprinted after Poe, dodging through villagers who were running about clutching children or weapons sometimes both. He could hear ships roaring towards the village, taking a quick glance to the side he almost stopped moving. Four transport ships were descending upon the village. Turning his focus back on Poe he caught up to him just as he was rounding a sand dune and the sound of blaster fire erupted behind him. Poe glanced back and spotted him, frantically Ben motioned for Poe to keep running. Arriving at the starfighter Poe climbed into the cockpit as the droid wheeled underneath the fighter before being pulled up into the droid socket.

The fighter hummed and lit up as the engines whined to life. A faint tingle alerted Ben to throw himself into the dune getting a mouthful of bitter sand as the back of Poe's fighter was slammed by red by red blaster bolts exploding in crimson fury coming from over the dune. Ben glanced over the sand seeing two men in stark white armor with black lining firing at the fighter. A hiss and whine caught his attention as a blaster dropped down from the fighter's body and blaster bolts were fired straight back blasting the Stormtroopers away.

Poe jumped out of the cockpit and ran around to the back of the fighter. The fighter's circuitry had caught fire with sparks of electricity still being emitted intermittently. Poe turned to look at Ben and after a moment of pause took a leather pouch out from his jacket as the droid rolled out from underneath the ship.

Fumbling with the drawstring he pulled out a metallic object and turning to the droid he said, "You take this. It's safer with you than it is with me." A slot slid out from the droid and Poe placed the object in it.

"I want the both of you to get as far away from here as you can. Do you hear me?"

The droid beeped and hesitated. And Poe half smiled down at the droid.

"I'll come back for you! It will be alright." Turning to Ben he said, "Keep BB-8 safe alright?"

Ben nodded, shocked and seeing this Poe took off shouldering his blaster and running towards the village. BB-8 whined nervously and bumped into Ben's boot jostling him into action. He took off running. As he got to the top of the sand dune he glanced back at the village to see a large shuttle descending. The darkness was here. He could feel it reaching out searching for him. It was going to find him.

It was like a cloak had been draped over his shoulders. As he drew himself inward he instinctively surrounded himself in a light layer of the force shrouding his presence. Pulling the hood of his tunic up he ran into the desert followed by BB-8.

As he ran, he felt Tekka's light being extinguished followed shortly thereafter by the lights of the villagers. Ben collapsed to his knees gritting his teeth as he felt hot liquid running down his face. Agonizing pain swept through him running through his veins. He wanted to lash out. To hurt someone, something.

Something brushed against his face. It was faint. As light as the breath of the wind. The flash of an older hand belonging to blue eyes. A presence so familiar he knew it like the back of his own hand.

" _It's alright, I'm here."_

The pain receded. It still hurt but it was an ache instead of the agonizing pain from before. A small trill brought his attention to BB-8 who had rolled up next to him.

"They're gone."

A sad trill.

Wincing, Ben felt for the presence of determination that was Poe. It was faint, injured but alive.

"Poe's still out there, he'll come to get you, I know it."

As the words passed through his lips Ben knew they were true. Poe wouldn't give up. Neither would he.

Shakily he got to his feet, swaying slightly he began to move forward again getting steadier with every step. As he kept moving, he glanced behind him and nearly stumbled in shock. The tracks he made fading were being brushed away by a light wind. A wind that he could not feel. He stopped. Slowly he raised his hand and the wind stopped. Concentrating he waved his hand gently and the winds came back. Turning around he kept moving slowly making his way to the closest settlement he could think of, Niima Outpost.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

With a pained groan, Ben leaned against the metal hull of some forgotten war machine. He had traveled through most of the night and just now as the sun was breaking he had finally needed to stop to rest. His muscles ached fiercely and he took a deep breath trying to center himself. Taking off his pack he placed it on the ground and rested his head against the relatively cool metal of the machine. Reaching into his pack he searched around until he grabbed a canteen and sipped a small amount of water. An electronic trill by his feet caught his attention.

"We'll keep moving in a bit, I just need to rest."

With a sigh, Ben took another look into his pack to see what else Tekka had packed. There was another canteen, a DH-17 blaster and holster which he removed, a small leather bag with an odd assortment of parts that he didn't recognize yet felt oddly familiar, a couple packs of rations, and a small pouch with a handful of credit chits. Closing the pack, he attached the blaster to his utility belt and proceed to fumble with one of the pouches on his belt. He opened it and pulled out his crystal enclosing it in his palm to enjoy the warmth that traveled through it into his body.

The crystal had been the very first present Tekka had given him. It had been a clear crystal unremarkable except for a strange feeling in the force, that is until he had reached out to pick it up and the crystal had responded. Shining ice blue the crystal had given off a gentle warmth causing an indescribable tune to play in his head.

It was the last thing he had of Tekka besides the pack beside him.

Brushing hurriedly at his eyes Ben went to put the crystal back in his pouch then paused. Reaching into another pouch he pulled out a cord which he wrapped around the crystal carefully securing it, before tying the cord carefully around his wrist. Ben rose to his feet surveying the area, dunes of sand stretched out in every direction. The only landmark of note in the vast desolate landscape was the metal juggernaut behind him.

"Come on BB-8, let's go."

Hearing an affirmative sound from the droid, Ben once again shouldered his pack.

He felt their presences before he heard them. One was a massive creature in a great deal of pain, a luggabeast probably, the other was a much more intelligent presence and given that it was riding the beast it was most likely a Teedo, a small reptilian species that made its home on Jakku scavenging. Keeping up his pace he felt the pair slowly gaining on his tired footsteps as he slowly made his way through the sand. It was only a short while later that he heard the thumping of the beast's legs as it made its way towards him and BB-8. Turning around he gazed directly at the creature as it made its way towards him with its occupant. As the other pair came into speaking range the creature gestured sharply at Ben and jabbered a question at him.

"No, the droids not mine, it belongs to a friend."

This caused the Teedo to pause for a moment and look at him in an assessing manner, likely wondering if it could take him down with its ion spear and collect the droid for itself. A gentle brush with the force proved it and Ben sighed.

"Don't try it," he stated as if it were a simple suggestion.

The Teedo sat there considering for a long moment but something in Ben's stance caused him to reconsider and with a slew of curses the Teedo spurred his luggabeat onward away from Ben and BB-8. A whistle from BB-8 caught his attention drawing his attention to another approaching presence. Turning around he faced a sand dune as a figure came up over it. The figure who appeared to be a young woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes garbed in a tan tunic with light grey pants. Another scavenger, but while the Teedo had been filled with greed, this scavenger had a faint melancholy about her. As she came closer the intensity of her emotions increased, _loneliness_ , _longing_ , _bitterness_.

"Teedo give you any trouble?" her voice knocked Ben out of his thoughts.

He responded, "Nothing too bad, Teedo wanted BB-8 here for some scrap."

An irritated sound came from BB-8 showing exactly what he thought of that idea.

The scavenger nodded, turned to leave, then paused, "Know where you're going."

"Niima outpost."

She looked up in the sky, "It's getting late, no way you're going to make it before the sun sets."

Ben nodded, "I know." What other choice did he have? Tuanul was gone. _Tekka_ was gone. What did he have left?

The scavenger looked at him hard, before finally speaking, "If you need a place for the night…" she trailed off.

Ben looked back at the scavenger and felt a gentle nudge at the back of his mind. He reached out trying to get a read on her intentions, _reluctance_ , _truth_. Ben nodded.

"Thank you, I…" an idea occurred to him and he slung his pack over his shoulder and reached in pulling out a pair of ration packs and held it up to the scavenger. Her eyes lit up and she moved forward a couple steps to reach to take the packets looking at Ben in surprise.

Getting over her shock she spoke, "Come follow me." With that, she grabbed the packets and gestured for them to come with her as she walked back in the direction she came. Shifting his pack back onto his shoulders Ben followed catching up to the scavenger as they crested the dune with BB-8 close behind him.

"I'm Ben by the way."

"I'm Rey."

Ben watched as Rey tore into one of the ration packs he had given her. Opening one of his remaining ration packs he began to eat mechanically every bite tasting like dust. They sat across from each other in what used to be a machine of war that was slowly being claimed by the desert. Rey's home, if it could be called a home, unsettled him on an instinctual level. The blast marks on the exterior of the walker had triggered another one of his headaches.

Devastated areas with bodies strewn about everywhere smoking metal hulks everywhere. The aftermath of war.

Ben shook his head slightly trying to shake the images that had seared themselves into his mind and glared down at his ration bar.

"So where are you from?" Rey's voice dragged him from his thoughts and into another quandary. What did he tell her?

"Tuanul." His response was short.

"That old spiritual village?"

"Yeah." He said ending with a harsh note finality causing Rey to start back a bit. Trying for a weak smile he spoke again, "So how long have you lived here?" he gestured vaguely at their surroundings.

"About 9 years." She responded a note of pride in her voice.

Ben nodded and the silence stretched out until he spoke in a quiet voice, "This place is nothing like Dantooine."

At his words, Rey seemed to perk up, "You've been to other planets?"

A soft smile graced Ben's face, "Yeah, Tekka, the man who adopted me took me almost everywhere in the galaxy before we came here…"

At his words, she sat up straighter looking at him critically, "What are they like?" she said in a soft voice, "Other planets."

Hearing Rey's words caused his stomach to drop. In Tuanul he had often received the same question from the younglings of the village. Unable to help himself he would sit back and start to talk, inevitably gathering a crowd of them until he stopped his story. Seeing the longing look on Rey's face he couldn't help himself.

He sat back letting the memories flow through him and when he opened his mouth he let it all flow out. Worlds of oceans, worlds of greenery and soaring trees, worlds dominated by mountains, he spoke of it all. Hours passed like this, Ben describing the wonder of the universe in vivid detail while Rey attentively listened a look of awe on her face. It was just as Ben began to describe the rain of Kamino he stopped. He had never been to Kamino. He had never been to even a quarter of the planets he had described yet he could remember them all with vivid detail.

"I guess we had better get some sleep," a soft voice caught his attention and he looked at Rey who was getting to her feet heading to a cot in the corner of the room. Finding a corner of the room he used his pack as a makeshift pillow and sprawled across the floor. He slowed his breathing and as darkness reached to claim him he heard a quiet, "Thank you," from across the room.

Ben gradually gained consciousness to the sound of quiet feet heading towards him. With a light brush, he confirmed the presence headed towards him as Rey. Rising to his feet he stretched his limbs out feeling his sore leg muscles protesting. He glanced quizzically at Rey who had halted her approach on seeing him wake up.

"It's daybreak," she offered as an explanation, "I'll give you a ride to the Niima outpost, I have some salvage to trade."

Ben nodded, shouldering his pack and following Rey outside to her speeder, a large red machine that looked to be cobbled together from whatever was on hand. He watched as Rey first picked up BB-8 setting the droid in the netting before mounting the speeder and then gestured with her head for him to get on behind her. Placing his foot on the bottom engine he swung himself behind her finding that he now had no idea what to do with his hands. As he pondered what to do his thoughts were interrupted as Rey gunned the engines and he had to grab onto her waist to avoid being unseated from the speeder.

The ride passed in silence and it was only when they got to Niima outpost that Rey spoke, "So what're you planning to do here?"

Ben paused. Niima outpost had seemed to be the logical choice as it was the only settlement that received any traffic from the passing starships and Tekka had said to leave the planet. Poe though had said to get as far away as possible and that he would come back. Poe was a resistance pilot but even if Poe managed to escape he had no idea how they would even be able to find each other. He reached a hand up to stroke his beard only to encounter smooth skin. Putting the thought of him never having a beard aside he refocused his attention on the problem at hand. He would leave the planet, Ben decided, take BB-8 with him. The farther away they got from here the less likely the First Order would be able to find him and BB-8.

He looked at Rey, "I'm leaving Jakku, my adopted father gave me some credits to barter my way off planet." He paused remembering the look on her face last night when he had been describing other worlds. "If you want, I should have enough to pay your way off planet too."

She looked surprised and then a small bitter smile emerged on her lips.

It was a long pause before Rey spoke again, "I'm sorry but I can't accept, I'm waiting for my family, they'll be back, one day." She said this with the air of someone repeating a phrase they often told themselves with a slight melancholic smile. Ben didn't need the Force to tell him that she didn't believe it.

"All right," he said, "Thanks for getting me here."

"You're welcome," she said and with a nod walked away heading towards the main bazaar of the outpost.

It was as Ben walked through the market looking for an offworld trader who would be willing to offer up a berth on their ship that he felt the two presences behind him. Taking a quick glance around he spotted two figures cloaked in dark brown rags heading towards him.

Slowly they surrounded him until suddenly one threw a sack over the BB-8 causing Ben to spring into action, his body moving without conscious thought as one of the figures tried to grab his arms. Grabbing one of the encircling arms he flipped his attacker's body over his shoulder causing the figure to hit the ground, hard. The other figure rushed him only to receive a wheel kick to the head causing the figure to drop like a stone. Seeing the other figure try to rise he slammed the heel of his boot into the being's head causing them to collapse to the ground clearly unconscious.

Ben took a couple steps back shocked as Rey rushed up to him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," realizing that BB-8 was still trapped be pulled off the sack receiving a series of beeps in thanks. As BB-8 swiveled about it suddenly stopped, it's photoreceptor staring straight behind Ben, turning around he saw what BB-8 was staring at. A man with short dark hair was staring at them with a very familiar tan jacket on his shoulders.


End file.
